M.N.: The $100B Question is: Is this the truth or the show, and to what degrees, and also, staged by whom, and for what purposes? | Rolling Stones – “Under my thumb!” or: “If I only knew then, what I know now!” – 4:11 AM 12/19/2017 – James Clapper: Putin is handling Trump like a Russian ‘asset’

Share this article

M.N.: The $100B Question is: Is this the truth or the show, and to what degrees, and also, staged by whom, and for what purposes?

Former US Director of National Intelligence James Clapper said Monday that Russian President Vladimir Putin is handling President Donald Trump as an intelligence “asset.”

Trump has frequently praised the Russian leader and expressed the desire to foster closer ties with Russia. The two also share similar views on a number of topics, like the media and the ongoing Russia investigation.

Clapper said Putin appears to be using his past experience and training as a KGB officer in “managing a pretty important account,” referring to Trump.

In his sharpest critique yet, former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper characterized President Donald Trump as an “asset” to Russia and Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday.

Clapper appeared on CNN after Trump announced his new national-security strategy, which categorizes China and Russia as rivals whose interests are “antithetical” to the US.’ The White House additionally accused Russia of “using information tools in an attempt to undermine the legitimacy of democracies.”

During the press conference, Trump also brought up the phone call he had with Putin over the weekend, during which the Russian leader called Trump to thank him for sharing critical CIA intelligence that thwarted a planned terror attack in St. Petersburg.

“Yesterday I received a call from President Putin of Russia thanking our country for the intelligence that our CIA was able to provide them concerning a major terrorist attack,” Trump said. “That’s a great thing, and the way it’s supposed to work. That is the way it’s supposed to work.”

During Monday’s interview on CNN, Clapper said that the US and Russia have shared intelligence of that nature for quite a while, and that Putin’s phone call to Trump seemed “theatric” and was “illustrative of what a great case officer” he is. Clapper added that Putin, a former KGB operative, “knows how to handle an asset, and that’s what he’s doing with the president.”

Trump has long expressed both admiration for Putin, as well as a desire to foster closer ties with Russia. He has also frequently echoed Putin’s own talking points. Experts say the most prominent example is Trump’s initial reluctance to accept the US intelligence community’s findings that Russia intervened in the 2016 election to sway the race in his favor.

He has also dismissed congressional and FBI investigations into Russia’s election interference as politically-motivated “witch hunts” aimed at crippling his governing capacity, while disparaging the FBI’s reputation as the “worst in history.”

Clapper, former CIA director John Brennan, and former FBI director James Comey — all of whom Trump called “political hacks” — have repeatedly warned of Putin’s tactics, and Clapper said Monday that he appears to be playing to Trump’s characteristics. The Russian leader is reportedly briefed on all of Trump’s tweets — his preferred method of communicating with the public — and he has made remarks over the last few months that mirror Trump’s own beliefs.

Like Trump, Putin often denounces the independent press, and he recently criticized the Russia investigation as being “invented by the people who stand in opposition to Mr Trump to present his work as illegitimate.”

“You have to remember Putin’s background,” Clapper said Monday. “He’s a KGB officer. That’s what they do. They recruit assets.”

He added that Putin appears to be using his past experience and instincts now to manage “a pretty important account for him, if I could use that term, with our president.”

TV drama in the US has long been fascinated with the White House. Starting with The West Wing, there has been a glut in recent years: from House of Cards, Madam Secretary and Scandal to Homeland, in which the Oval Office is very much part of the action.

Not only do these series offer a sense of intrigue at the highest level but they serve as an assurance about the high-functioning nature of those in the upper echelons of power. The West Wing was particularly reverential, pandering to the patriotic, quasi-monarchical veneration in which the presidency is held by both liberals and conservatives. Martin Sheens Jed Bartlet was quick-witted, fluent in Latin and decent to the core. He offered a fictional reproach to the dim wattage of the actual White House incumbent of the time, George W Bush.

Russian tweets on Brexit were minimal, study showsFinancial Times
Vidya Narayanan, a researcher at the Oxford Internet Institute’s computational propaganda project, said that its report showed there was no significant Russian activity. She suggested one reason might be that, unlike the US presidential election…and more »

The FBI and CIA need more political management, not lessThe Hill
The most severe option would be to require senior career CIA and FBI officials to retire and to obtain reappointment from the president and confirmation from the Senate. What about the potential for it to politicize intelligence and policing? We …

Russians Tried to Recruit Black Students to Bash Hillary ClintonDaily Beast
IN OCTOBER 2016, a month before the U.S. presidential elections, two men who claimed to be independent political and public affairs journalists with programs they said aired on RT, a Russian Television network funded by the Kremlin, met three Nigerian …

Kremlin’s new cyber weapons spark fears and fantasiesTimes LIVE
Fears initially centred on mysterious Russian hackers who supposedly worked for Moscow’s security services as part of a cyber war but then shifted to a flood of online articles and social media posts aiming to explain Moscow’s position and play up the …and more »

Déjà Vu All Over Again Russian Active MeasuresSecurity Boulevard
Reviewing the current discourse surrounding the use of social networks by Russia, one cannot help but have a sense of déjà vu, as the tried and true Cold War tactics of the Soviet Union percolate to the forefront. Specifically, how the Russian…

Thanks for the help, Putin tells Trump on the phoneAmerican Military News
In reporting Putin’s call to Trump Sunday, the official Russian news agency Tass said Putin thanked his American counterpart for information shared by the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency that had helped break up a plot to set off explosives in St …and more »

An Amtrak train has derailed on an overpass in Washington. At this time, all lanes of traffic remain blocked on Interstate 5. CBS News affiliate KIRO-TV reports first responders are treating the derailment as a mass casualty incident.

Get new episodes of shows you love across devices the next day, stream local news live, and watch full seasons of CBS fan favorites anytime, anywhere with CBS All Access. Try it free! http://bit.ly/1OQA29B

—
CBSN is the first digital streaming news network that will allow Internet-connected consumers to watch live, anchored news coverage on their connected TV and other devices. At launch, the network is available 24/7 and makes all of the resources of CBS News available directly on digital platforms with live, anchored coverage 15 hours each weekday. CBSN. Always On.

New York’s fire commissioner says at least four people from one family died in an early morning fire in a house in Brooklyn, New York on Monday morning. Three more people were critically injured. (Dec. 18)

The Associated Press is the essential global news network, delivering fast, unbiased news from every corner of the world to all media platforms and formats.
APs commitment to independent, comprehensive journalism has deep roots. Founded in 1846, AP has covered all the major news events of the past 165 years, providing high-quality, informed reporting of everything from wars and elections to championship games and royal weddings. AP is the largest and most trusted source of independent news and information.
Today, AP employs the latest technology to collect and distribute content – we have daily uploads covering the latest and breaking news in the world of politics, sport and entertainment. Join us in a conversation about world events, the newsgathering process or whatever aspect of the news universe you find interesting or important. Subscribe: http://smarturl.it/AssociatedPress

An Amtrak passenger train derailed Monday morning, spilling multiple cars off an Interstate 5 overpass in Pierce County, Washington, according to the Washington state Department of Transportation’s Twitter account.

Injuries and casualties have been reported, the Pierce County Sheriff’s Office and Amtrak said.
All southbound lanes of the interstate are closed due to the derailment and the sight stunned motorists heading to work.

An Amtrak train derailed south of Seattle, and authorities say “injuries and casualties” were reported. The train derailed about 40 miles (64 kilometers) south of Seattle before 8 a.m. Monday. (Dec. 18)

The Associated Press is the essential global news network, delivering fast, unbiased news from every corner of the world to all media platforms and formats.
APs commitment to independent, comprehensive journalism has deep roots. Founded in 1846, AP has covered all the major news events of the past 165 years, providing high-quality, informed reporting of everything from wars and elections to championship games and royal weddings. AP is the largest and most trusted source of independent news and information.
Today, AP employs the latest technology to collect and distribute content – we have daily uploads covering the latest and breaking news in the world of politics, sport and entertainment. Join us in a conversation about world events, the newsgathering process or whatever aspect of the news universe you find interesting or important. Subscribe: http://smarturl.it/AssociatedPress